This is my story
I was a chubby child, born into a family of overweight people who are to this day, still obese. I was used to my mother being on all the faddy diets of the day throughout my childhood, and she got me on a diet which never worked fromas young as 7 or 8. I was always bigger than the other kids and I hated it. At mealtimes though, I was always encouraged to finish what was put in front of me, which was not one bit helpful, and I guess still has a hold on me now.
There were traumas in my childhood which affected my self image, which I don't really want to go into right now, and these traumas did not stop until I was about 12 or 13. I continued to be a large girl, rarely being the one with a boyfriend when all my teenage mates had boys. I left home when I was just coming up to my 18th birthday, and started my nurse training in London. It was in these first few months on my own in the big wide world that the traumas of my childhood resurfaced, and this time took hold on me in the form of anorexia. I went from a size 18 uniform on my first day to a size 10 uniform within the first 3 months of being in London, and yet I still shopped at Evans for size 18 clothes not seeing that in reality I was much slimmer. I was ill, depressed and suicidal. I met a bloke who I eventually married in 1992, and with him at my side giving me confidence and assurance, I began to eat again, and the weight went up and up. We decided to try for a baby but this is where I came off the pill and I was diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease. My weight was now under the control of the PCOD. I don't blame it totally though. I lost 7 babies through miscarriage in the 10 years we were together, and I did comfort eat too, but never to the point of bingeing. I went through years of painful fertility treatment which always ended badly.
I had an ectopic pregnancy which nearly put me in my grave, and I remember thinking that night that I had never felt so alone in my whole life. Something had to give. I joined Slimming World as a new focus instead of the relentless IVF treatment. I was over the moon to loose 5 stone in that year, and I felt really good, however as my weight went down, my marriage grew more and more distant. We split up and I soon met Alan on the internet ! We met in April 1998 and our daughter was born a year to that day later. I put on weight in the pregnancy, and moved house twice in it too. I had an emercency C section and post natally never lost the weight I gained. I was happy with Alan and our daughter, and my weight again went on the increase. We married in 2000, and our son was born in 2001. I was 18 stone when he arrived, and just last year when we had our 3rd child, another boy, I was 19 stone 4 all the way through the pregnancy. I never lost any after either. It has crept up a few more pounds in the last year, and despite going to weight watchers, I just cannot loose weight. The WW leader got quite cross with me because I should have been loosing weight each week and instead I was just staying the same. She told me to drink more water, as a cure for my PCOD! I gave up, and went to the doctors. She told me that with PCOD I would never find a diet that would help me loose weight. She tried me on Metformin, Xenacil and Reductil all with no weight loss. The latter made me feel really ill. So I started researching weight loss surgery about a year ago.
I know that my future looks grim if I don't loose weight. My mother is my reflection, and she is 69 and disabled in a wheelchair with crumbling bones and chronic osteoporosis. Her mother was the same. My mother is a large lady, and my father, also a big man, has cardiac problems. I don't want their present to become my future.
I came across the weight loss surgery information forum which I became a member of and here I found a wealth of information, and people just like me. I found amazing success stories there too, and inspiration to give me the will to do something about my weight. My doctor advised me that this would be the way to go, but the NHS didn't provide it over here in Northern Ireland.
To cut a long story short, I flew to Belgium 8 1/2 months ago and had a laparoscopic RNY gastric bypass. It is NOT a band, it is a bypass that gives me the ability to shift my weight permanently, and quickly. It is half the price there than over in England, and the surgeon is one of the best there is. The success rate of these operations is on average 10 stone weight loss in a year. I know that I will have to change everything about my eating habits from here on, but that is not a bad thing, believe me ! To think that this time next year I will be at target weight and fitting into a lovely pair of jeans and a skimpy top is just so exciting.
In 8 months, I have lost 8 stone in weight. Yes, you read that right. I have a fantastic surgeon who I can recommend to all of you. There is no need to spend the rest of your life being fat and putting up with it. Life is way too short for that ! Please contact me for more information. |
Has been a Buddy since:
18-09-2006 10:28 am
Total forum posts: 0
Ideal weight:
139.99 lbs (63.50 kg)
Starting weight:
273.00 lbs (123.83 kg)
I spend my free time:
Reading / Writing
TV / Cinema
The Internet / Gadgets
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